Man Sentenced To Life For Killing Associate In Alleged Pot Trafficking Operation

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP/WJZ) — A man convicted of killing an associate in an alleged marijuana trafficking operation has been sentenced to life in prison.

An Anne Arundel County Circuit judge sentenced 51-year-old Michael Stahlnecker of Crofton on Monday. He had been convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of 37-year-old John Ryan of Frederick.

“The murder of John Patrick Ryan has left a lifelong void for his friends and family, including a wife and two young children,” said State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess. “Mr. Stahlnecker is a violent man who has shown no remorse and even smirked throughout his trial. He will spend the rest of his life behind bars and is no longer free to hurt another family.”

Prosecutors say Stahlnecker shot Ryan of Frederick in the head and left his body in the trunk of Ryan’s Lexus in Derwood in December 2012.

Stahlnecker owned Computer Power Cabling Corp. and Levitating Sports. Prosecutors produced evidence the men moved marijuana from California to Maryland by hiding it in shipments of electrical generators.
——
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)